Something seems fishy about all these lists.

​It seems like there's another "city superlative list" every week (the latest making the odd claim that we're the "13th most lesbianish"), so we decided to try to put them all together into one comparative infographic.

These studies are popular with readers, hence their proliferation. Many of them were one-time studies. Some corroborate each other, as with Forbes' assertion that we are the most relaxed metropolitan area, while Portfolio.com asserts that the Twin Cities are the 3rd least stressful.

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Tony Webster says the online crash database violates Minnesota data laws.

​Last week the Minnesota Department of Public Safety disabled a database following an allegation that a security flaw left private information of Minnesota drivers "vulnerable" to public access.

Tony Webster, a web developer and online security researcher from Minneapolis, filed a complaint after discovering he only needed a driver's license number to unlock a wealth of data from a state crash report website, including a driver's insurance policy information, license plate number, home address, and other details related to past car accidents.

Webster says it would be easy for the wrong person to access this information, and he believes some of it violates state data privacy laws.

"If you're a victim of harassment, identity theft, domestic abuse, any of this information could be easily abused," says Webster. "And those are the people most likely to have your driver's license number."

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John Hoff exercised his First Amendment rights.

​A jury has concluded that there was nothing untrue in "Johnny Northside" blogger John Hoff's writing about the alleged shady business dealings of Jerry Moore.

Then the same jury decided that Hoff's writing caused Moore to lose his job at the University of Minnesota, so it awarded Moore $60,000 in damages.

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Steven Hayward loves monster trucks.

​Paul Mirengoff figured it was okay to trash Indian spiritual beliefs and Mexicans when he complained on the Power Line blog about a Yaqui prayer delivered at the memorial service for the Tucson shooting victims.

But he also trashed his law firm's reputation among its American Indian clients. He got a very public dressing down. And he resigned from Power Line. In his place today: Steven Hayward.

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Photo via Wikipedia

PZ Myers doesn't meet the New York Times oh-so-high standards

​University of Minnesota evolutionary biologist and outspoken atheist PZ Myers just doesn't cut the mustard, as far as the New York Times is concerned. His offense: Daring to call out corporations for seeking to influence scientists and science journalists.

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Dan Lacey

Dusty Trice with a pancake on his head

​The sounds you hear are the mourning cries of Michele Bachmann foes everywhere: Liberal blogger Dusty Trice, who wielded a video camera like sharp stick when it came to popping GOP balloons ahead of Election Day, is calling it quits.
 
Trice lampooned the always quotable District 6 Republican congresswoman on a regular basis.

"I was actually getting ready to close up shop right after the State Fair, but I was getting so much national attention from my videos that I figured I should stick around for a few more months," he says via e-mail.

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Irony and satirical content doesn't always translate so well online. And a former Anoka County DFLer is learning the hard way.

In May, Timothy Kastelein drew a cartoon dollar bill with a caricature of Sen. Barack Obama, ribs, chicken and watermelon on it. He labeled it "Obama Bucks".

And when a Republican took the image and used it for a more serious argument, the joke was quickly lost.

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The latest from the Anti-Strib blog is sure to get hardcore bikers and Sen. Barack Obama fans riled up. After recent reports of deaths and injuries due to the increasing numbers of commuters taking to their bikes for a primary mode of transportation, the Anti-Strib blog says it might help Sen. John McCain win the election.

Quotes after the jump.

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James Lileks is a busy man. Not only did the conservative-friendly blogger and radio personality find time to pen a hard-hitting column for us, dude’s got his own internet “show program” at the Strib called “The Jimmy ‘Jim’ Lileks Show Program.” (We’re being told that the show is actually hosted by his twin brother “Jimmy.” Okay, fine, we’ll play along.)

In this, the premiere episode, Jimmy attends an art show in Edina in search of that timeless, elusive enigma. What is art? Watch it here. Disclaimer: we cannot reimburse you the four minutes of your life spent watching it.

The residents of North Oaks, MN have successfully lobbied to have Google Maps remove images of their homes from the recently launched Google Street View feature. Turns out the good people of North Oaks (there are 4,500 of them) own their own roads and so that buggy looking Google-car committed the high-crime of trespassing when it trolled the quiet streets of North Oaks grabbing photos every which way.

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